(from News-Press.com) – The latest Nielsen television ratings are out and the numbers show the news race is as fluid as ever. There’s something for almost everyone to crow about.? In the 6 a.m. time slot, WBBH NBC2 continues to dominate – as it has for years and years now. In fact, the gap between 2 and second-place WINK even widened a bit since the previous May.? At noon, WINK wins in overall viewers, but NBC2 ekes out a slight win – one-tenth of a point – in the coveted 25-54 age group. This is the target audience of most advertisers. WINK takes the 5 and 5:30 p.m. newscasts, but NBC2 pulls ahead at 6 p.m. At 10 p.m., Fox4 wins both the overall viewers and the 25-54 year-olds. However, the station’s number has softened a bit since a year ago. This despite the juggernaut that is “American Idol” in May. Meanwhile, the news that WINK airs on sister station CW6 has inched up, narrowing the race to a 1 point gap between the two stations. Finally at 11 p.m., WINK has pulled even further ahead compared to a year ago. While both WINK and NBC2 do fine late night newscasts, it also goes to show how strong the CBS network is in prime time where NBC struggles mightily.

Below is a list of all the main newscasts where local stations compete. The ratings points are for overall viewers. Each rating point equals approximately 5,000 Southwest Florida households tuning in.

6AM – NBC2 6.7, WINK 2.7, Fox4 1.4, ABC7 0.8

NOON – WINK 4.2, NBC2 3.4

5PM – WINK 5.3, NBC2 4.6

5:30PM – WINK 6.0, NBC2 5.2

6PM – NBC2 7.8, WINK 7.5, ABC7 3.3

10PM – Fox4 4.6, CW6 2.3

11PM – WINK 7.9, NBC2 5.6, ABC7 2.5, Fox4 2.3

– In the 6 a.m. time slot, NBC2 continues to dominate – as it has for years and years now. In fact, the gap between 2 and second-place WINK even widened a bit since the previous May.– At noon, WINK wins in overall viewers, but NBC2 ekes out a slight win – one-tenth of a point – in the coveted 25-54 age group. This is the target audience of most advertisers.

– At 10 p.m., Fox4 wins both the overall viewers and the 25-54 year-olds. However, the station’s number has softened a bit since a year ago. This despite the juggernaut that is “American Idol” in May. Meanwhile, the news that WINK airs on sister station CW6 has inched up, narrowing the race to a 1 point gap between the two stations.

– Finally at 11 p.m., WINK has pulled even further ahead compared to a year ago. While both WINK and NBC2 do fine late night newscasts, it also goes to show how strong the CBS network is in prime time where NBC struggles mightily.

Below is a list of all the main newscasts where local stations compete. The ratings points are for overall viewers. Each rating point equals approximately 5,000 Southwest Florida households tuning in.